The present invention generally relates to the field of fibre channel devices, and particularly to an apparatus, system and method for enabling access and transfer of data.
The access, transfer and storage of electronic data is one of the most important aspects of modern life. From business to personal use, electronic data is utilized to make lives easier, as information representing transactions, personal data, business, and the like is stored and transferred quickly and accurately. By communicatively linking systems, data may be transferred to provide this functionality.
To provide consistent and persistent access to data, a variety of paths to the data, as well as data saving schemes may be employed. However, these schemes may require high data bandwidth, may be resource intensive, and may be incompatible across a variety of architectures. Further, such methods may result in complications to future development of products, devices and systems.
Further, a variety of host configurations may be encountered, each of which may cause complications in the use of an input/output interface. For example, hosts may utilize different operating systems, implement different applications, and the like, which have different communication requirements. Therefore, to provide connectivity to a target device, the host was configured for the type of interface supported by the target device. Such support may require extensive re-writing of host software, and may require extensive changes to an input/output device.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a system and method for employing a dynamic logical identifier. The present invention provides an efficient methodology that may map a host""s view of a target""s address, such as a bus/id, to a input/output interface""s, such as a protocol chip, view. For instance, a look-up table may be utilized in conjunction with a logical identifier of the present invention to improve chip performance. Further, identifiers with dynamic fields, such as bus fields and ID fields may be utilized to enable greater flexibility and adaptability to individual operating system and improves interface efficiency.
In a first aspect of the present invention, a method for accessing data utilizing an input/output interface includes providing an identifier for accessing a target device by a host, the identifier including a bus field and an id field and generating a logical identifier from the obtained identifier by the host. The logical identifier is transferred to an input/output interface and a look-up table is accessed utilizing the logical identifier by an input/output interface controller. The look-up table is included on the input/output interface, wherein the look-up table provides access between the input/output interface and the target device so as to enable the host to access the target device.
In a second aspect of the present invention, a system includes a host having a controller, a memory and at least one port suitable for communicatively coupling the host with an electronic device; a target device suitable for storing electronic data; and an input/output interface. The input/output interface includes at least one port communicatively coupling the interface with the host; at least one port communicatively coupling the input/output interface with the target; and a controller communicatively coupled to the at least one port communicatively coupling the input/output interface with the host and the at least one port communicatively coupling the input/output interface with the target. The host formats an identifier including a bus field and ID field to generate a logical identifier, the logical identifier provided to the input/output interface so that the input/output interface controller utilizes the logical identifier in conjunction with a look-up table to provide access to the target.
In a third aspect of the present invention, an input/output interface for communicatively coupling a host with a target includes at least one port communicatively coupling the interface with the host; at least one port communicatively coupling the input/output interface with the target; and a controller communicatively coupled to the at least one port communicatively coupling the input/output interface with the host and the at least one port communicatively coupling the input/output interface with the target. When the controller receives a logical identifier formatted by the host from an identifier including a bus field and ID field, the controller utilizes the logical identifier in conjunction with a look-up table to provide access to the target.
It is to be understood that both the forgoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention as claimed. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention and together with the general description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.